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Benchmarks Of The Gentoo-Based Calculate Linux

08-02-2010, 02:00 AM

Phoronix: Benchmarks Of The Gentoo-Based Calculate Linux

Traditionally at Phoronix we have stayed away from publishing benchmarks of Gentoo and similar source-based distributions for the lack of them having a standard or "stock" configuration for which one can easily replicate our tested software stack due to all of the different variables that come into play so the value of these benchmarks are much less compared to those distributions providing pre-compiled binaries for a standardized set of packages. However, satisfying a number of requests, we are publishing such benchmarks today. Rather than using Gentoo itself for benchmarking, we are using Calculate Linux Desktop, which is Gentoo-based while providing a very nice "out of the box" experience, i686 and x86_64 binaries, and overall is a polished and user-friendly Gentoo experience.

However, this is a slap in the face for all Gentoo users: you were,
as I understood, asked to perform a comparison against Gentoo. Instead, you pick some random distribution with *binary* packages, which are also pretty outdated. Calculate Linux is not Gentoo, despite it is being based on.

To clarify the point of Gentoo (IMHO, of course):
- CPU-optimized compilation of source packages
- availability of most recent packages (e.g. GCC, Glibc, X11, ...)

Please: either work out a proper benchmark, or, if you can't, just do not mention "Gentoo" in your article titles!

Traditionally at Phoronix we have stayed away from publishing benchmarks of Gentoo and similar source-based distributions for the lack of them having a standard or "stock" configuration for which one can easily replicate our tested software stack due to all of the different variables that come into play so the value of these benchmarks are much less compared to those distributions providing pre-compiled binaries for a standardized set of packages. However, satisfying a number of requests, we are publishing such benchmarks today. Rather than using Gentoo itself for benchmarking, we are using Calculate Linux Desktop, which is Gentoo-based while providing a very nice "out of the box" experience, i686 and x86_64 binaries, and overall is a polished and user-friendly Gentoo experience.

Comment

Everyone with a little bit of common sense knows that we can't benchmark Gentoo reliably because person A's Gentoo isn't person B's Gentoo. They know it, we know it, so why try?

*sigh* This is just the point. Gentoo is not a general purpose Linux distribution. Instead, one can tweak the O/S to the maximum, which you cannot do with any other distribution.

You say we can't benchmark it ? IMHO, it would be interesting to see the performance numbers from the Phoronix benchmark. But only, if the system is tuned properly. Using stock Gentoo, for example, won't gain much performance I believe.